What is Rimini Street announcing, and why does it matter for ERP providers?
Rimini Street is introducing an agentic AI layer for ERP systems and backing it with real-world customer deployments that aim to improve productivity and process automation without requiring ERP upgrades, migrations, or increased budgets. The launch of Rimini Agentic UX, alongside expanded customer engagements such as Tidewater, hints at a growing interest on extracting more value from existing ERP environments rather than replacing them.
Rimini Agentic UX
Rimini Street on December 3 unveiled Rimini Agentic UX, an AI-driven user engagement and orchestration layer designed to sit on top of existing ERP systems from vendors such as SAP and Oracle. The company says the new layer applies agentic AI, automation, and role-based UX design to streamline ERP process execution across finance, supply chain, HR, and other core functions.
According to Rimini Street, Rimini Agentic UX is already being implemented across dozens of customer projects. The approach focuses on persona-based automation and enterprise-wide visibility, aiming to reduce manual effort and accelerate execution while avoiding costly ERP upgrades or migrations. The company positions the technology as a way to extend the usable life and value of current ERP investments.
The launch builds on Rimini Street’s broader Rimini Smart Path methodology, which the company describes as a structured approach to ERP optimization and innovation. By combining third-party support with automation and AI-driven tooling, Rimini Street argues it can help organizations deploy new capabilities in weeks rather than months, using existing budgets.
Tidewater Expanded Partnership
A customer example highlighted on December 11 is Tidewater, the world’s largest offshore service vessel fleet operator. Tidewater initially engaged Rimini Street to support its Oracle PeopleSoft ERP system in Brazil. Following that engagement, the partnership expanded to include SAP support, tax software optimization, and eventually global coordination across Tidewater’s operations.
Tidewater’s CIO, Lee Johnson, cited improved system stability, ongoing cost savings, and better communication as drivers behind the expanded partnership. The company has since adopted additional Rimini Street services, including Rimini Connect for interoperability and security patching challenges, and Rimini Consult for professional services during the consolidation of Brazil ERP systems into a global SAP environment.
According to Rimini Street, the expanded relationship has helped Tidewater consolidate financial systems, automate tax reporting, and free up resources for higher-value initiatives, including AI projects and broader technology modernization.
What This Means for ERP Insiders
ERP innovation is increasingly happening above the core system. The introduction of Rimini Agentic UX may be reflecting a broader shift toward overlay technologies that automate processes and improve usability without forcing major ERP upgrades or migrations.
Third-party ERP support is expanding beyond break-fix services. The Tidewater example shows how support providers are positioning themselves as long-term partners that span optimization, interoperability, security, and process improvement across SAP and non-SAP ERP environments.
Cost containment and speed remain central to ERP strategy. As budgets tighten and upgrade paths grow more complex, some ERP leaders are looking for ways to unlock automation and AI-driven productivity from existing systems rather than restarting transformation programs from scratch.
